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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Is School Funding Fair (throughout the nation)?

Well, that would be no but here's the latest National Report Card on school funding by the Education Law Center at Rutgers. The authors are Bruce Baker,
professor in the Department of Educational Theory, Policy and Administration in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University , David Sciarra, Executive Director of the Education Law Center (ELC) and Danielle Farrie, Research Director at ELC.

From the Introduction:

The third edition of the National Report Card examines the condition of states’ finance systems as the country emerges from the Great Recession, but is still wrestling with its consequences.

As in prior editions, this Third Edition of the National Report Card continues to make the case for states to take immediate and longer-term action to improve the fairness of their school finance systems.

Two predominant characteristics of the U.S. education system highlight the importance of systems of school funding that are built on the principles of fairness: decentralization and concentrated poverty. The U.S. system of schooling is highly decentralized and funding is distributed through a non- uniform system for states, districts and schools. The 50 states and the District of Columbia each operate separate education systems often characterized by a complex system of fractured and segregated districts.

Second, there is a large and growing population of poor students who are concentrated in high- poverty school districts. In 2011, 21% of school-aged children in the U.S. were living below the federal poverty level (approximately $23,000 for a family of four), a 30% increase over levels in 2007. That translates to almost two and a half million more children living in poverty over this four-year period. In fact, every state in the country experienced increasing child poverty.4

Compounding the challenges of extremely high levels of poverty, these students are increasingly concentrated in schools with other poor children. The percentage of U.S. students in high-poverty schools (poverty rates greater than 30%) doubled from 7% in 2007 to 16% in 2011. Decades of research demonstrates that concentrated poverty is a significant barrier to educational progress. The increasing isolation of poor students in schools and districts presents what may be the most daunting challenge currently facing American public education.

I will note that this is also true for charters schools which are becoming increasingly segregated by race and socioeconomics.

How to think about this issue?Before one can effectively analyze how well states fund public education, one critical question must be answered: What is fair school funding? In this report, “fair” school funding is defined as a state finance system that ensures equal educational opportunity by providing a sufficient level of funding distributed to districts within the state to account for additional needs generated by student poverty.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) publishes the most commonly used metric for state school funding: state and local revenue per pupil. This is a fairly straightforward measure, but one that ignores the complexity of comparing funding levels between states. Without any adjustments for the characteristics of the students served or for differences in regional purchasing power, this measure is unsatisfactory for making comparisons between states.

It is important to note that not all of these fairness measures are entirely within the control of state policymakers. For example, the level of funding is a function of both the state’s effort and wealth. When evaluating a state’s funding level, it is important to consider whether the funding level is a function of effort, wealth (that is, fiscal capacity), or a combination of the two. In addition, the extent to which children attend public schools is not entirely a function of the quality of the public system. Some states historically have a “culture” of private schooling and a larger supply of private schools.

What about Washington State?

Flat on funding with an F from 2007-2011 for “Fairness Measure:
State Effort”

C on “Funding Distribution."

27th in "Funding Level" sitting right between Louisiana and South
Carolina.

Page 33 has a chart with all the four areas for all
states.

The unfair condition of school funding in far too many states demonstrates again the importance of sustained advocacy to convince elected officials and policymakers to undertake meaningful and enduring school finance reform. And, in the face of a recession, advocates in even those states with a demonstrated track record on fair school funding must redouble their efforts to prevent backsliding and retreat from fairness and equity.

The consequences of a failure to design, implement, and sustain fair systems of school funding are felt directly in the everyday classroom experiences of students across the country. States that prioritize and invest in their public education systems have the ability to attract high-quality teachers, realize the importance of early childhood education, and are better able to provide small class sizes and the staffing resources to meet the needs of all children.These fair funding states have also demonstrated stronger academic performance when compared to states with flat or regressive funding. Simply put, states with unfair school funding have fewer resources in classrooms and schools to support teachers and students and lag in educational performance. These states and regions are an educational drag on the entire nation.

We can't let the Legislature ignore what the Washington Supreme Court has ruled about school funding for our state.

Educated, can you tell me more about that statistic? Every where I see it looks like we are number 22 for teacher pay- better than all our other funding rankings(so it is already being prioritized over, say, class size, where we are 42nd, if the salary number is right), though I would hope for such a wealthy state we'd be better on everything. Is there fuzz in that number? I know our high end is quite high, but is our starting salary extra low, or does it take longer to climb the ladder than in other states? Do our teachers work more hours than average?

Education Acroynms

Advanced Learning - SPS' three-tier program for advanced learners. Made up of APP, Spectrum and ALOs. (Note: the name of the district program is "Advanced Learning Services and Programs" but these three programs fall under "Highly Capable Services" of AL Services and Programs.

ALO - Advanced Learning Opportunity, the third tier of SPS' Advanced Learning program

AP - Advanced Placement. A national program of college-level classes given in high schools.

APP - Accelerated Progress Program. One of the levels of the Advanced Learning Program. NOTE: the name of this program is now "HIGHLY CAPABLE COHORT." This change occurred in 2014.

ASB - Associated Student Body. High school leadership groups.

AYP - Adequate Yearly Progress. Part of NCLB.

BEX - Building Excellence. SPS' capital renovation/rebuilding program that is funded via the BEX levy. Every 3 years there is the Operations levy and either the BEX or BTA levies as those two levies rotate in six year cycles).

BLT - Building Leadership Team. Staff members at a school who meet regularly to discuss building issues.

BTA - Buildings, Technology, Academics. The major maintenance/other capital fund for SPS. Originally BTA was to cover major maintenance like HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning), roofs, waterlines, etc.) but now covers wide swaths of items like athletic fields, technology and funding academic needs.

CAICEE - Community Advisory Committee for Investing in Educational Excellence. Created by former Superintendent Manhas in 2008, to issue a report about reform recommendations for SPS.

CSIP - Continuous School Improvement Plan, the plan for improvement for each school as required by state law.

EOC - End of Course Assessments, given in math and science, required for high school graduationESEA - Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the federal law that governs education, includes the NCLB accountability provisions.

e-STEM or e-STEAM - STEM or STEAM curriculum with an environmental focus.

FACMAC - Facilities and Capacity Management Advisory Committee. A district committee comprises of an all-volunteer citizen group created in 2012 to help bring research and ideas to capacity management issues in the district.

FERPA - Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. A federal law that protects students' privacy

FRL - Free and reduced lunch.

FTE - Full Time Equivalent

FY - Fiscal Year

Highly Capable Services - NEW name (as of 2014) as umbrella name for these programs: Highly Capable Cohort (formerly APP), Spectrum and ALO (Advanced Learning Opportunities).

HSPE - High School Proficiency Exam, state assessment that replaced the WASL for 10th graders, required for graduation

HQT - Highly Qualified Teacher, a standard set by federal law

IA - Instructional Assistant

IB - International Baccalaureate program. An international program of advanced classes that can either be taken as stand alone or as part of an overall IB program.

IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The federal law that governs special education

MAP - Measures of Academic Progress. A computer-based adaptive assessment made by NWEA and originally purchased by the district for use as a district-wide formative assessment but now used for a wide variety of purposes.

MSP - Measurement of Student Progress, the state proficiency assessment that replaced the WASL for students in grades 1-8

MTSS - Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

NCLB - No Child Left Behind, a provision of the federal education law, ESEA, introduced during the George W. Bush administration